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Monday, December 07, 2009

Still Point Art Gallery recently opened its latest exhibition: The Serious and Playful Sides of Light. The idea of the show is to explore the many ways that artists understand and use light in their work. Photography is all about light, something which Pete Cosenza, one of three Artists of Distinction in the show, makes very clear in the three photographs he submitted for the exhibition.

Landscape 2, Landscape 1, Landscape 5

Looking at and thinking about Cosenza's images, and being a photographer myself, I realize that I missed something when I titled this exhibition - the challenge that light presents for an artist! For example, when outdoors, a photographer has to worry about the intensity of the light, placement of light, effects of shadowing, and how to use one's camera and other tools to manage the lighting conditions to obtain the intended image. When shooting indoors or in the studio, a photographer has a similar set of issues to worry about, but in addition indoor light has to be generated and manipulated, and that itself can be quite a huge task. Lighting is very complicated and challenging for a photographer, and I have no reason to doubt that it is complicated and challenging for a painter as well, though in a different way.

Knowing the challenges, I see what Cosenza has accomplished in his three landscape photographs. He has managed to work masterfully with light and shadow to create images that are alive with color, line, texture, contrast, and rhythm. Landscape 2 and Landscape 5 show water reflecting the beautiful purple of the sky. In Landscape 2, the reflection is broken up by pylons as well as the movement of the water, and in Landscape 5, the reflection is broken up by the water's movement. This "breaking up" action creates the fabulous interplay of light and shadow that Cosenza captures so well. The fact that this interplay of texture and contrast is working within the framework of the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines that Cosenza has found are what make these two images such wonderful creations. Plus, in Landscape 2, he managed to get a little bird to pose for the photograph. Landscape 1 is quite different. Here one sees a beach that is clean and clear of clutter, and the surface of the sand is smooth. The beach seems a bit dark, especially in contrast to the shoreline and some offshore rocks, appearing at the top and top right corner of the photograph, which are brightly glowing from sunlight. The viewer's eye is immediately drawn up towards that lovely light. But then, as one's view enlarges, one sees a lone figure walking along the beach. Of great interest in the photograph, the figure casts a very, very long shadow. The sunny shoreline and the long shadow are essentially two lines in the photograph - a line of light and a line of dark, and the two lines are nearly perpendicular to one another in the photograph. The use of light in the creation of these two lines impacts the compositional quality of this photograph in a really remarkable way. Cosenza's work shows us many things in the way he has used light in his photographs.

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I asked Pete some questions about his work...

Christine Cote: This exhibition is about the artist's use of light. Photographers have to think about light in so many different ways. Could you say a bit about the factors related to light that you had to consider to capture the images in this exhibition? From where do you draw inspiration for your work? What inspired the pieces in this exhibition?

Pete Cosenza: As a photographer I learned to think of "light" as how it would transmit to film...dimly lit objects needed more time or a wider opening. For "bright, sunshiney days" we were taught that to "properly expose the film" we needed 1/ASA at f16...so with tri x...that equated to 1/400 at f16 to get the correct amount of light to the film. Not so bright...open up the lens or set the shutter to be open for a longer time, etc.

Many exposures are set as to what is simplest. As a photographer, we know faster shutter speeds will stop action, and wider aperatures will be less depth of field...along with a bunch of other tricks and technical/artistic sorts of ways to capture the light and put it on film...

In retrospect I see that a lot of my work is framed by water...not something that I even tried to accomplish...except when factoring in that I grew up on the coastline of Southern California...spent summers body surfing and water skiing...got to sail in the Sierra, and chased waterfalls in Shasta...then found the camera. So in that respect I was totally enthralled by the beauty of the ocean and water, and the light that surrounds it...the inspiration that brought me into art...probably the memories and the amazement when I saw what a camera could do.

What inspired these three pieces? In trying to capture strikingly beautiful scenes...I used to call it Calendar Art...I became obsessed...beauty and clarity (sharpness and color) were always a motivating force.

The abstract piece (Landscape 5) was taken just after a storm...and most of that session was spent chasing a sunset and allowing myself to become involved with it. It's an available light shot, taken with a longer time exposure than normal in order to get some depth of field...late in the day...hand held and taken without much thought...again just allowing the light and the beauty to lead the way.

The other two images (Landscape 1 and Landscape 2) are sort of a theme I seem to fall into...solitary images (or even couples, or groups of similar items) against incredibly striking backgrounds. You can't beat mother nature in that regard. If you try and set up and pose people...or birds...it usually doesn't work as well as the impromptu random scene.

Maybe my eyes are trained, but I guess my brain still drives the bus, and probably always has. Most artists, I think, allow it to happen and as a photographer it helps to pay attention...and I'm always looking for my next image.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

I am very pleased to announce the opening of Still Point Art Gallery's exhibition - The Serious and Playful Sides of Light.

Artists were asked to respond to the following theme:

Think about light. We need light to see, to find our way in the dark, to brighten our day, to cast hope upon despair. Think about light again. Consider the fun of bouncing the light from a flashlight around a room or using your hands to make shadowy characters in front of a bright light projected against a screen or white wall. Isn't it exciting to light candles on someone's birthday cake and watch the birthday girl's or boy's eyes light up too? Light. There is always such joy to realize that the shortest day of the year has come and gone and there will be more daylight in the coming weeks.

Artists think about light...a lot. Artists work with light...study light...appreciate light...play with light. This exhibition is intended to explore the many ways that artists show their understanding and use of light...the serious and playful sides of light.

Artists responded with fabulous submissions. Some of the art works in this exhibition will amaze you, some will warm your heart, some will surprise you, and some will bring a smile to your face. Light has such power...such importance, and it takes a very skilled and attentive artist to present light in ways that are true to its nature. You will meet such artists in this exhibition.

The online exhibition opens today, December 2, and continues as a featured exhibition through February 9, 2010. Be sure to visit!
Art work shown above:Gatherings by Joe Krawczyk, Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 18, $995Boy at Window by Gary Paul Stutler, Not for SaleChristmas in Boston by Joan F. Dromey, Soft Pastel, 9 x 12, $650The Silence by Frances Seward, Photography, 30 x 28, $450

Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, daylight, lamplight. The current exhibition at Still Point Art Gallery looks at light, specifically how artists understand and use light in their compositions. The exhibition is titled The Serious and Playful Sides of Light.

Boy at Window, Pool at Night, Day Street

Artist Gary Stutler has six wonderful paintings in the exhibition, three of which are shown above. Together they illustrate why Stutler was named one of three Artists of Distinction in this exhibition. Boy at Window is a beautiful piece in so many ways. Stutler presents a touching scene in the midst of a lovely room. The young boy, seemingly alone in the room, looks out a large window. Is he waiting for someone? Has he been waiting a long time? Does he wish he could go outside to play? Is he ill? The room is illuminated only with the natural sunlight coming through the large windows, so the scene feels somber and quiet. Yet at the same time, the light beautifully shines on the wall, the floor, the bureau, and the young boy. The light brightens the painting, just as it serves to lift and brighten what might otherwise be a sad situation for the little boy as he stands at the window being bathed in beautiful light. Light completes the composition, and Stutler handles the light and the shadowing and the color changes caused by light and shadow with perfection. Day Street is a wonderful example of the playful side of light. Light shines in and shadows are created by window blinds - light and shadow thus play together on a wall. We see it all the time, but here Stutler helps us to really see and enjoy it. Finally, in Pool at Night, we see the effects of moonlight and starlight - long, dark shadows, but also the glow of the moon where it shines the brightest.

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I asked Gary a few questions about his work:

Christine Cote: What led you to become an artist?

Gary Stutler: Drawing and later painting led me to become an artist. Some form of drawing or painting was always part of my education from primary school onwards, as well as in my home upbringing. I am forever grateful to my parents and schools for that. As a child, my reception and expression of experience was always primarily visual and physical. The contemplation and creating of images remains for me the most comfortable language to communicate whatever sensitivity and intelligence I possess.

CC: This exhibition is about the artist’s use of light. Could you say a bit about how you approach the painting of light? In particular, how did you approach the painting of light in the pieces that are in this exhibition?

GS: (The pieces I am using will be: Stoplights; Pool at Night; Moon; Interior Sunset; Day Street; Boy at Window.) Light is important because it is the actual and symbolic container and unifier in my paintings. In Stoplights, the streaks of time-lapsed light created by a snapshot of a passing car are intended to contrast and interact with the comparatively static lamplight coming from within the non-photo referenced house. The supreme contrast is made by placing these artificial, human lights beneath the immensity of the time and space created by the stars. Pool at Night has something similar going on, though its contrasts have more to do with the varying colors of light, reflected off the different subjects, than with the relative distances we intuit by defining the origins of the light. Moon is the most conscious juxtaposition of the artificial and the natural, more purely in terms of subject matter. The human and natural structures are ultimately unified by the overall intensity of color reflected from the paint surface itself. It departs more than the other paintings from naturalism by using exaggerated color contrast as much (or more) than light and dark contrast. Interior Sunset, Boy at Window and Day Street represent direct studies of the behavior of daylight as it screams or whispers into lovingly constructed human enclosures. Natural light is more conveniently scrutinized as scientifically observed phenomena within the safe, controlled and predictable confines of home --- however paradoxical that objective goal, within the subjective environment, sounds.

CC: How would you describe your artistic style? How has your style developed over time?

GS: I have never thought much about style. I was never interested in making a consciously distorted reference to what I was seeing. To this day, I do not know how to willfully summon invention as I work. I am attracted to certain images and objects as they introduce themselves to my eyes, imagination and memory. I also strongly identify with certain materials. My paintings are realistic, yet more circumscribed and hermetically iconic than a direct translation. They are predominantly paintings that happen to be "of" something. Over time, I would say that my appreciation of the materials and processes I am using, and the deliberate adjustments (especially of color and depth of field) at my disposal, have led to a more recognizable interest in the patterns of energy embedded in subject matter and my own movements. The ultimate abstractness in the parts and the whole of a painting are always in my thoughts now.

CC: From where do you draw inspiration for your work? What inspired the pieces in this exhibition?

GS: I inevitably draw inspiration from the visual feast around me. I still vividly recall, from my days in the first grade, several beautiful drawings hanging in the high-ceilinged hallway of my old school building. I clearly remember wanting to “do that.” My mother drew with me at home, but although none of my friends or other acquaintances (until I got to 7th grade) knew how to draw, I could tell that they instinctively respected the ability. Even after photography and all the other advances in image making, there remains a literal power in being able to literally translate the world around me by directly utilizing body, brain and paint. Somewhere between wanting to achieve the verisimilitude of a perfect hologram, and recognizing the inherent, ghostly powers of obviously-painted objects, I do what I can, hope for expansion and growth, and keep working. Vermeer, Hopper, Kollwitz, A. Neel and L. Freud inspire me. I naturally love galleries and museums. There are dozens of other inspiring artists too numerous to mention. When I look at others’ work though, it can get to be too much of a good thing and I get off my own path. I have my own itch to scratch.

CC: Is there anything you want people to know about you or your work?

GS: There are, for lack of a better word, aesthetic moments practically everyone has in this life. You feel suddenly and (probably temporarily) smarter. As an artist, I want to invite as many of those moments as possible and commit them to memory for as long as possible.

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Gary Paul Stutler - Artist Statement

Every living thing exhibits pattern in either growth or habit. Any subject is acceptable for study, any technique or material acceptable for making a new form.

In the tremendous flux of experiences, there is only one thing which has ever brought me a moment of peace – drawing and painting from life.

I have never been able (because my work is so categorically realistic) to reject recognizable subject matter. As much as the process of manipulating materials creates the actual work, an emotional or intellectual homage to subject persists in me. There is undoubtedly a narrative, but I specialize in making marks on a surface rather than words on a page.

Having said all this, the ironic truth is that the most satisfying pictures I make are as inscrutable as the subjects that inspire them.

Gary Paul Stutler - Brief Profile

Contemporary realist, Gary Stutler, is a native of Galesburg, Illinois, and an MFA graduate from the University of California, Davis. He currently teaches painting and drawing at Napa Valley College, and has his studio at his home in nearby Vallejo, California. His work has been exhibited widely in numerous parts of the United States as well as around the world. Gary has won many awards and honors for his artistic achievements.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Perhaps there is a spot in your home where beautiful light comes in at certain times of the year - perhaps early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The light slowly crawls into the room, slowly bringing with it a feeling of warmth, a soft glow, and playful designs as the light moves in and around the various objects in the room. Bring this image to mind and then look at the stunning paintings of Joe Krawczyk that are showing in the current exhibition of Still Point Art Gallery. Krawczyk was named one of three Artists of Distinction for his contributions to this exhibition - The Serious and Playful Sides of Light.

Awaiting the Mail, Gatherings, Ready to Gather

The idea of the exhibition is to show the many ways that artists understand and use light in their compositions. It is clear from Krawczyk's work that he has been attentive to and has studied the way that light filters into a room and plays with the objects in a room. His skill has allowed him to perfectly recreate what he sees. But there is so much more in his work than attentiveness and skill. Krawczyk has titled his pieces Awaiting the Mail, Gatherings, and Ready to Gather - focusing on what the baskets are doing, even though the baskets are really doing nothing. By focusing on what they are doing, the artist is focusing on their purpose and thus their emptiness. The basket is awaiting the mail, but there is no mail yet. The basket is ready to gather, but nothing is gathered yet. The emptiness of the baskets gives these paintings a sense of utter simplicity, but it also allows the viewer to focus on another important subject in the paintings - light. In turn the light allows emphasis on the emptiness of the baskets. Light and emptiness are the subjects of these paintings, but they are inseparable. One relies on the other to create the inseparable whole of the composition.

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I asked Joe Krawczyk some questions about his work:

Christine Cote: What led you to become an artist?

Joe Krawczyk: I was born an artist. I have been drawing, painting, carving, building and creating as long as I can remember.

CC: This exhibition is about the artist’s use of light. Could you say a bit about how you approach the painting of light? In particular, how did you approach the painting of light in the pieces that are in this exhibition?

JK: I have been a student of light since my studies at the Art Institute of Boston. My major was Advertising Design. One of my painting teachers said “If you want to starve, become a fine artist.” I pretty much enjoyed eating, so advertising was the road I followed. Having worked as a commercial artist for over 40 years, I honed a lot of my skill and understanding of light, conceptualizing and directing photo shoots. I especially enjoyed directing product photography. Spending hours in a dark studio playing with light, I learned that with the right use of light, almost any product could look like jewelry. All this experience has been translated into my paintings. I first paint all my canvases dark using a 3 color combination. I then draw my subject using a white drawing pencil. After that, I begin to paint the light, layering the color to reach the intensity I want. I prefer to paint in the evening when it’s dark. I illuminate my canvas with one light to get me in the mood of my subject matter. I love creating visual drama through the contrast between the highlights and shadows (which are actually the original background color).

CC: How would you describe your artistic style? How has your style developed over time?

JK: I would describe my style as contemporary realism. I have only seriously been painting for a few years. I started painting still life using pretty standard fruit, vegetables and such. One day while exploring subject matter, I illuminated one of my wife’s baskets from her collection. The thing that grabbed me the most wasn’t the basket, but the light speckled shadow it created. That was it, from then on, all the paintings I’ve created are of baskets. Some from our own collection, some borrowed, some purchased.

CC: From where do you draw inspiration for your work? What inspired the pieces in this exhibition?

JK: I draw inspiration from everywhere. A lot of my paintings are from places in my own house, both inside and out. I have also imposed on my friends and neighbors if I see something at their homes that looks like a good spot for a basket. As an artist, I believe we see things differently than most people. I guess that’s how ordinary objects become works of art.

CC: Is there anything you want people to know about you or your work?

JK: When I finish a painting, I feel that I’m leaving a real piece of myself behind, because art has always been such an integral part of my life. So even when I’m gone, my art will live on.

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Joe Krawczyk - Artist Statement

It's all about the light and the high drama that can be created. The subjects I choose to illustrate this dramatic light are baskets. It's a single theme, but every subject is different. The light beautifully illuminates the basket, then passes through it to create a never ending array of light speckled shadows. By always painting them as empty vessels, I allow the viewer to mentally fill the basket with whatever they choose.

Joe Krawczyk - Profile

For close to 40 years Joe Krawczyk has been an award-winning graphic designer. During that time he has seen the industry go from linotype and magic markers to having virtually all graphic design created on computer. "I successfully made the transition to the computer age, but I began to long for some hands-on art. I decided to get back to painting, a fine art I hadn't practiced for many year. So now along with my advertising design firm, I have a part of my office dedicated as a painting studio."

Joe describes his still life paintings as contemporary realism, and his medium is acrylics on canvas. His paintings are created in a tenebrist style. Both tenebroso (Italian) and its English equivalent, tenebrism, refer to a style of painting characterized by high contrast between light and shade. Frequently the main subjects of tenebrist paintings are illuminated by a single source of light, as if a spotlight shone upon them, leaving other areas in darkness. In order to achieve this dramatic lighting effect, Joe first paints the canvas dark, and then begins to paint the light areas of his subject, allowing the dark background to become the shadow areas. These dramatic paintings of baskets in the tenebrist style have become his trademark.

Joe first exhibited his paintings at the 2008 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival where he received 3 Patron Awards. He won Best of Show at the 2008 Windermere Art Festival and a Merit Award at the 2008 Maitland Rotary Art Festival. He won an Honorable Mention in the 2009 Atlanta Arts League National Juried Exhibition and Third Place in the Infinity Art Gallery Fall Expo 2009 International Juried Show. His work was recently accepted into the International Association of Acrylic Painters 2nd Annual International Online Show. He won an Honorable Mention at the 2009 Winter Park Autumn Art Festival and has been exhibited at The Northlight Gallery, Kennebunkport, Maine.

Monday, November 23, 2009

This week of Thanksgiving is the final week of the Autumnal Tints exhibition. If you haven't yet taken time to see it, this week is a good time. The exhibition shows various aspects of the beautiful season of autumn through many different artistic media - painting, abstract photography, ceramic, photomontage, mixed media, and sculpture - and through the vision and viewpoint of many different artists. There are stunning paintings and photographs of autumn foliage (look at work by Linda Pearlman Karlsberg and Ron Pederson); abstract photographs that capture autumn's finest colors (John R. Math, Daniel Sroka, and Peter Azrak); a charming photograph of a country pumpkin patch (Cella Neapolitan); photomontage work and mixed media pieces that show different interpretations of autumnal tints (Lee Muslin and Kathy Winstead); and so much more.

I spend a great deal of time with the pieces in each of my gallery's exhibitions. I look at them over and over again, both before the exhibition opens and after. I spend time thinking about each piece as well as the exhibition as a whole. Each exhibition gives me the opportunity to focus on its theme...in a personal way. I wanted to do the Autumnal Tints exhibition for two reasons. First, I enjoy autumn so much, as I've talked about in a previous entry, and, second, I like Henry David Thoreau's essay entitled Autumnal Tints. Given this background, I developed this theme for the Autumnal Tints exhibition:

"I believe that all leaves, even grasses and mosses, acquire brighter colors just before their fall. When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has, sooner or later, its peculiar autumnal tint." --Henry David Thoreau, Autumnal Tints

This exhibition, though, is not solely about a time of year. It is about color...the plush, sometimes fiery, sometimes soothing and subtle, colors of autumn.

But the exhibition that started out being about tints and color took on a new cast over the course of the exhibition. The more time I spent with this exhibition and these art works and the more I thought about and pondered the topic of autumn, the more my thoughts moved on a bit. These beautiful and colorful images that represent my favorite season of the year began to make me think about change and impermanence. The colors that we enjoy in the late months of the year are perhaps a reminder to us that change is part of our reality. Everything and all of us will "sooner or later, [take on] its peculiar autumnal tint." Here in the northeast, many of us look forward to the pleasant days of autumn. We try to soak up as much of the goodness of autumn as we can, in part because we know that autumn will soon end, and we will have a long wait until the warm days of spring bring forth regeneration. So while we enjoy the colors for their brilliance and beauty, autumn is also a special season - positioned as it is between summer and winter - because it reminds us every year that while no one escapes change, change does come with brighter colors and beautiful tints.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Still Point Art Gallery's Autumnal Tints exhibition will end in a couple of weeks, as will the season of autumn. Here in Maine the trees are totally bare, and the predominant colors are brown and rust - the brown coming from the tree branches, and the rust coming from the leaves on the ground that still need to be raked or pushed off into the woods.

I want to draw some attention this week to a piece in the exhibition by Lee Muslin called Falling Leaves. This piece is a digital photomontage, and, at first glance, it does not seem to be your typical autumn artwork. Where are the red, yellow, and gold leaves? Instead we see blue and teal leaves set against an abstract orange, gold, and blue background. This combination of colors is unusual and quite striking. But if you spend a minute with the image, you will get a sense of leaves darkly silhouetted against an autumnal sky at dusk. This is a lovely and most original piece of autumn art.

Falling Leaves

So what is digital photomontage? Muslin describes it like this:

My digital photomontages are created by combining my original photographs using the computer as my paintbrush. To realize an idea, I review my vast archive of thousands of photographs to decide which images can be merged to make a compelling statement. The chosen photographs are scanned on a high resolution film scanner or raw files from my digital SLR camera are convert to a workable file format. The images or selected portions of them are layers, blended, and collaged using Photoshop software. These layers may then be partially erased or masked, duplicated or electronically painted. Color and opacity adjustments may be made, and various filters or blending modes may be applied. There are endless possibilities. This elaborate process facilitates results that would be impossible in the traditional photographic darkroom. My pre-visualized idea often changes as I'm working and artworks usually come to fruition through in-process discovery. Working on an image often involves many days, weeks or even months to finalize the placement of images, what effects to use and which manipulations to make, to create the most effective final product.

Falling Leaves by Lee Muslin is 20" x 24" framed and is available for $355. Please contact Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or by phone at (207) 837-5760.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Peter Azrak has three stunning photographs in Still Point Art Gallery's Autumnal Tints exhibition. I wish to draw attention to one of the three - Whisper Ecstasy.

Whisper Ecstasy, as the title suggests, feels quiet, soft, and tender...like a whisper...while also projecting a sense of elation and bliss...a feeling of ecstasy. The soft colors of the piece create the quiet tenderness that is its foundation. The dark strokes reaching upward create a bit of tension, as does the strong sense of verticality throughout the piece, brought about by what seem to be vertical lines. This verticality is the essence of the piece. This verticality generates a sense of movement...a rhythmic shimmer that is wonderful to watch. It is the shimmer that draws you into the piece and leaves you with a feeling of bliss.

Whisper Ecstasy

Whisper Ecstasy is a photograph and is available through Still Point Art Gallery framed (48 x 32) for $1080. Please contact Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or 207.837.5760. Please see the Gallery for two additional photographs by Azrak - Stained Glass and Dream Aura.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Autumnal Tints exhibition has given me many opportunities to think, read, and write about autumn...my favorite season. One of the most enjoyable things about owning and directing this Gallery is the chance it gives me to focus on the topic of each exhibition...think in some depth about each topic, research it, read about it, and use my thoughts to select and comment on art submissions. So working on the Autumnal Tints exhibition for the last few months has given me lots of time to think about autumn...just when it is autumn. (How's that for planning!)

It is now November 4 and we are well into autumn. Here in Maine the trees are nearly bare. Mostly oaks and beeches still hold on to their leaves. The colors and tints of autumn began to be noticeable back in August when some red first appeared in the woods. In September there was more red, but also yellow and gold and orange sparkled in the trees on sunny days. Some green leaves simply faded to a more pale shade of green. Others grew spots and blotches rather than changing color. All of it makes for a most beautiful season. Every day looks different from the one before it and the one to follow.

Autumn is my favorite season...but not only because of the beauty of the changing leaves. I love the crisp days of October when I need to wear a sweater or jacket. I love the feel of cold air against my face when walking through the woods. I love the sound of walking on crisp leaves. I love the smell of autumn...earthy and robust. And, unlike most people I know, I even like the fact that the days get shorter. I like being able to "nest" in my home during the late fall and winter months...sit by the woodstove, enjoy my home, cook hot meals, and spend some time looking inward.

I was born in Milwaukee, and my family moved to San Diego when I was about seven years old. I moved back to the midwestern part of the country when I was in my twenties and spent about ten years living in northern Indiana. I was so thrilled to be living in a place once again where I could experience seasons. When I left Indiana, I moved to Maine, where I still live today. The seasonal changes are a bit different here...autumn arrives earlier, winter stays longer, summer is shorter, and spring is actually something called mud season...but I could not live without them. I was meant to live where seasonal changes are part of life. I like the rhythm.

Somehow it seems that I appreciate the seasons more every year. Perhaps with every passing year I realize to a greater extent that the number of autumns or winters that I have left to enjoy are dwindling. You just don't realize that when you're twenty or thirty. So I try harder to pay attention to those things in my life that I enjoy, and I do enjoy the seasons...especially autumn. Autumn brings with it apple-picking, baking apple pies, pleasant walks in the woods, the chance to wear a sweater, that feel of crisp air, the wonderful smell of fall leaves, the sight of falling leaves on a windy day, grouse and pheasant hunting with my dogs, watching football on Sunday afternoons, sitting by the woodstove, and, of course, Thanksgiving...my favorite holiday. There is some autumn still to enjoy this year, so I need to still pay attention. I don't want to miss a minute of my favorite season.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

"Autumnal Tints" brings to mind images of maples, oaks, poplars, and aspens wearing bright reds, golds, and yellows that sparkle and shine in the mid-day sun. But if the only "autumnal tints" you notice are the changing leaves, you miss so much. There are also the ferns that grow brown and shriveled, the many grasses in fields that go to seed and fade to ivory or pale brown, various berries that range from dark blue to bright red to pure white, and a variety of late-blooming flowers. Then there is the change in light in autumn, brought about by the decrease in daily sunlight, that makes everything look different...as if it has a different tint. Let's also not forget the autumnal sunset skies that so often are flooded with bright pink.

Laura Yang's contribution to Still Point Art Gallery's Autumnal Tints exhibition is not of leaves or tree-filled landscapes. She presents still life pieces with flowers. But it is the long shadows in these pieces...the light and shadow...that reveal the season. In autumn, the light moves to its lowest point in the sky, and shadows become longer, which produces a world with slightly different tints and tones. This is the light that Yang captures in Autumn Light and Autumn Light 2.

Autumn Light, Autumn Light 2

Autumn Light (20 x 16) and Autumn Light 2 (16 x 20) are digital watercolor prints. Each is available through Still Point Art Gallery framed for $400. Please contact Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or 207.837.5760.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

I'd like to start this blog entry with a personal note...with appropriate apologies to Robert Santerre. I've often mentioned in my Twitter tweets that I'm headed up to or coming back from "camp," which is the Maine equivalent of a cottage in the woods or a cabin by a lake. But Mainers, being Mainers, call these structures "camps" ... doesn't matter if it's a shack worth $500 or a sprawling 5-bedroom home with its own golf course worth $5,000,000 ... it's still a "camp." My camp is on a lake up in northern Maine in the tiny town of Mt. Chase (year-round population 200), where softwoods, such as pines, hemlocks, spruce, and tamaracks, grow in abundance. There are plenty of hardwoods too, maples, aspen, birch, and others, that produce brilliant colors in the autumnal months. But the softwoods produce a scent that is alluring and captivating. I can't breathe in enough of that glorious scent, made even more sensational when there is just a hint of wood smoke in the air on a cool fall day. Any decent camp in Maine has a name, and mine is "Heaven Scent," because when we first found our property all I wanted to do was breathe in that delightful smell from the softwoods.

Pine Cone Pitcher, Pine Cone Bowl, Pine Cone Wine Cooler

Well, I've rambled on a bit. But I can't help but think about this when I look at the three beautiful ceramic pieces in the Autumnal Tints exhibition by Robert Santerre, of Arrowsic, Maine. The pine needles and pine cones on these pieces are actually impressions of real pine needles and pine cones that are pressed into the clay after it is allowed to dry to a "leather-hard" stage. Then, after the piece has dried completely, it is fired to a low temperature, burning out the plant residue. The impressed "image" of the plant is then filled in with colored ceramic stains. The piece is then dipped in a clear over-glaze and fired once again. As a result of this process, not only do these impressions from plant material result in an image that is botanically correct, but each piece is completely unique. Any of these pieces would bring a piece of Maine right into your home.

The three pieces may be purchased together for $700. Individually, the Pine Cone Pitcher is available for $175, the Pine Cone Bowl is $350, and the Pine Cone Wine Cooler is $175. Please Contact Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or 207.837.5760.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Autumn brings to mind warm and rich colors like red, orange, gold, yellow, bronze, and rust. Yet if you observe autumn in different places or at different phases of the season, you could see very different colors or have a very different experience. Autumn can be subtle rather than strong, translucent rather than bright and clear, and colored in cool tones like faded greens and ivory in addition to the warmer, more familiar reds and oranges.

This brings me to the amazing abstract photography of Daniel Sroka, particularly his contributions to Still Point Art Gallery's Autumnal Tints exhibition.

Dragon, Unravel, Wave

Sroka's photographs, Dragon, Unravel, and Wave, are close-ups of fallen leaves that present a rather rare view of autumn. The images of Sroka's view of autumn are not expansive landscapes, but rather intimate portraits of individual leaves. The colors of Sroka's view of autumn are not rich reds and golds, but rather cool greens and faded peach tones. The shapes found in Sroka's view of autumn are not of typical maples and oaks, but rather of spirals and sawtoothed edges. Sroka's view of autumn is subtle and studied...these images are the product of an artist who is attentive.

Dragon (11 x 14), Unravel (14 x 11), and Wave (11 x 14) are pigment print photographs. Each is available through Still Point Art Gallery unframed for $400. Please contact Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or 207.837.5760.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Linda Pearlman Karlsberg has added something very special to Still Point Art Gallery's Autumnal Tints exhibition. Her two paintings, Wellesley Autumn and Foliage, put the viewer into the autumnal season. The subject of these paintings is what most of us think of when autumn comes to mind. The colors are deep and rich. Light and shadow are handled with both the precision of a skilled artist and the perfection of a devoted observer of the outdoors. The sense of composition in both pieces is masterful.

Wellesley Autumn, Foliage

It is a privilege to exhibit these two fine paintings. Both pieces may be purchased. Wellesley Autumn is 18" by 14" and is available for $2800. Foliage is 16" by 12" and is available for $2600. Please contact Christine Cote, owner of Still Point Art Gallery, at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or 207.837.5760.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

John Kimball exhibited a piece in Still Point Art Gallery's Dwellings exhibition. He currently has a show running at the Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth, Maine. It is well worth a visit. Kimball describes his work as mixed media. Unless you see his work in person, you cannot appreciate the cutout figures and various objects that he uses in his pieces to create magnificent, bold, at times whimsical, works of art. If you're in Maine before October 10, be sure to see this show.

Daniel Kany, art historian and freelance writer, reviewed Kimball's show in the Maine Sunday Telegram on September 13, 2009. Check it out.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Still Point Art Gallery has named Kathy Winstead an Artist of Distinction in its latest exhibition, Autumnal Tints. The online exhibition opened August 31 and will continue through December 1, 2009.

Kathy works in the realm of mixed media, meaning that she draws from several artistic practices to create one piece...painting, three-dimensional art, collage, found object or assemblage art, and more. Her submissions for the Autumnal Tintsexhibition are mixed media pieces that are filled with color...autumnal reds and oranges and yellows, complemented by blues and grays. Her pieces contain found objects brought together with color and paint on a foundation of wood. They are unique, captivating, and challenging.

Forgotten Lyrics, Locked Out, On the Road, Strength in Numbers

Kathy says about her art...

I am a self-taught artist specializing in eco-friendly recycled mixed media collage. My work radiates expressions of emotion, mixed with color variations that typically define levels of quiet and reflective thought or stormy interpretations. I believe in collaborating with my clients to create the textures, colors, and thought processes they seek. Each piece of work is an original and cannot be duplicated. I look forward to creating that special piece for everyone who has the ability to see, dream and envision an original and unique piece of artwork for their home.

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I asked Kathy a few questions about her art and her submissions to Still Point Art Gallery...

[Christine Cote] What has drawn you to be an artist?

[Kathy Winstead] I think I was born with a passion for art, but my earlier works were shared throughout the years with only family and friends. Art allows me to self-interpret and express my emotions in a way nothing else can. I love to create art that can mean something different depending on your mood. For me, it represents freedom from conformity. I like to step out of my comfort zone in life and explore new things. My art reflects my life. I've been called unique by some and I like to create art pieces that are unique -- no two are alike -- just like no two days in my life are alike.

I give credit to my brother whose love and encouragement inspired me to pursue my artistic dreams. Today I have stepped out of the confinement of the corporate world and for once in my life am doing what I love, sharing my art at shows and through private commissioned work.

[CC] How would you describe your artistic style? What draws you to your particular style of art?

[KW] While being involved in various types of art, my passion is mixed media. I love the different feelings that can be expressed in this artwork which combines recycled materials, tools, and basically anything that holds interest in texture or style and the application of bright, forceful colors or soothing tints and shades. Mixed media is a more flexible art form allowing the use of anything the mind can grasp. I like the ability to pull various objects into the piece to personally engage the mind of the art enthusiast. I want to encourage the individual to explore their own thoughts and emotions and to bring each piece to life in their own mind and heart.

[CC] What are you seeking to express through your art?

[KW] I have always been an emotional person and I think this comes through in my art - even if I am not aware of it while creating it. I find that after finishing a piece, I can really examine what emotions I was experiencing. It is a way to release my own energy in a useful and meaningful way and hopefully to be able to touch the emotions of others.

[CC] What is the inspiration for your art...what inspired the pieces in the Autumnal Tints exhibition?

[KW] Most of my inspiration comes from solitude within and my work has allowed the private person in me to come out for the first time. For many years my solitude and peace of mind came from music, reading and writing poetry. I have a deep appreciation for any type of creativity - including painting, cooking, gardening, sewing - and many of these loves are reflected in my work. I frequently use items such as recipes, music sheets, poetry and road maps in my work. I believe color is the real key to satisfying the heart and soul. It calms, it excites, and it pleases.

In the Autumnal Tints exhibition, On the Road explores travel from southern beaches to northern mountains as exhibited by the colors and use of portions of a road atlas, sticks resembling fallen fencing along sand dunes, and finally leaves in shades of burgundy and green as they are beginning to fall. Forgotten Lyrics is a piece depicting all the colors and warmth of the seasons. The bird seeds represent nature and the continuation of life, while relaxing sheet music "plays" in the background. Locked Out is a playful piece exhibiting various drink recipes, a music CD, while featuring the warm rust colored hues of autumn. Strength in Numbers has the bold and vibrant gold and orange colors of autumn, and mixes in geometrical figures and mathematical equations to emphasize the significance of numbers in our everyday life.

[CC] Is there anything else you'd like viewers and visitors to know about you and your art?

[KW] Since I am very much into ecology, 100% of the materials in my paintings are recycled items or found objects. The paintings are done on old cabinet doors, drawer fronts, old bookshelves that have been taken apart, and any scraps of wood I can find. That is one of the most important parts of my work. Everything involved has lost its original purpose, but is now being used to create something new and vibrant. It allows me to give these items a "second life."

The mixed media pieces are achieved by attaching various items in layers onto the wood. I achieve some of my textures with molding pastes and gels. Then layers of acrylics are applied and finally acrylic varnishes with UltraViolet Light Stabilizers to protect them from discoloration. All of the pieces are intended to be hung on a wall as the back sides of them are, by design, left in their natural state showing how the wood was originally used.

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Kathy Winstead was born in Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1950s in a family who believed in strong work ethics. From an early age, she explored her artistic talent in various areas, but her career was spent working in the accounting field and her focus was raising her children, Shaun and Tara. In recent years, visits to galleries and open studio tours with her brother have inspired Kathy to re-evaluate her lifestyle and pursue her artistic talents. Although Kathy has traveled extensively and lived a few years in Texas and California, her southern roots run deep and brought her back to her beloved Atlanta where she currently resides with her significant other and soul mate Tim Isenberg. She finds relaxation in her art, primarily mixed media style, and also playing with her seven-month old grandson, Carson, whom she is eager to introduce to the exciting world of art.

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Kathy's pieces may be purchased. Please see the Gallery website for more details about each piece. Inquiries should be addressed to Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or by phone at (207) 837-5760.Back to Still Point Art Gallery

Still Point Art Gallery has named John R. Math an Artist of Distinction in its latest exhibition, Autumnal Tints. The online exhibition opened August 31 and will continue through December 1, 2009.

John's contributions to this exhibition are four magnificent abstract photographs. John specializes in abstract and impressionistic photographic images, and hearing the call for autumnal tints, he responded in a grand way. His images are bursting with color - orange, yellow, and red. The pieces have a wonderful texture and design that, along with the color, combine to create images that seem to shimmer with excitement and delight.

Fall #1, Leaves, Fall #2, Falling Leaves

I asked John some questions about his work as an artist.

[Christine Cote] What has drawn you to become an artist?

[John R. Math] As a boy I was brought up an environment whereby I was not allowed to express my feeling and thoughts. The moment I picked up a camera I realized that this was another way to do that.

[CC] How would you describe your artistic style? What draws you to your particular style of art?

[JRM] My style has evolved as I have adapted to technology. With a digital camera my style is now loose, free and full of color. With movement of the camera, I am also able to show textures which increases the feeling of the image.

[CC] What are you seeking to express through your art?

[JRM] When I first began shooting as a boy, due to the cost of film, I shot in Black & White. At that time, my subjects and subject matter were dark and brooding too. Like now, I took my technique to an extreme at that time. Over the years I began to marvel at the beauty of nature and now this is what I choose to explore in my photography.

[CC] What is the inspiration for your subjects...what inspired the subjects of the pieces in the Autumnal Tints exhibition?

[JRM] I just love the range of Fall colors. Green to Brown and everything in between. We never seem to get tired of it, year after year.

[CC] Is there anything else you'd like viewers and visitors to know about you and your art?

[JRM] Every day I am continually taking pictures in my head. I then return to these locations early in the morning and again at dusk and try to recreate what I thought I saw. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't due to external conditions. But I keep trying, until I get it. It could take months to achieve.

My images are simple and as an individual I am still expressing myself through my images. There is so much beauty in the world and I am only trying to show a small aspect of it to those who can also appreciate it.

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John's photographs may be purchased. Each is 15" by 10" and is available for $450 without framing. Inquiries should be addressed to Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or by phone at (207) 837-5760.

Still Point Art Gallery has named Leslie Anderson an Artist of Distinction in its latest exhibition, Autumnal Tints. The online exhibition opened August 31 and will continue through December 1, 2009.

Leslie has five paintings in the exhibition; three are shown below. Leslie submitted works that show her brilliant use of color and, in keeping with the theme of the exhibition, these pieces show fiery reds and brilliant oranges and yellows. Living in Maine, as Leslie does, the pieces are inspired by the scenes that surround her in daily life. The scenes are of autumn in Maine. Such beauty! At Leslie's hand, the bright colors combined with the broad brush stroke that Leslie used to paint these incredible pieces, autumn is made to feel cheery, happy, and bright. No wonder many say it is their favorite season!

Straw on the Barren; Maquoit Oaks; On the Mountain, October

Here is what Leslie says about painting...

For me, painting is an analogy for life--a balance of risk and control, knowing when to go with the flow, knowing when to stop. I started painting several years ago to relieve the stress of my career in high tech (I was marketing communications director in several software companies), never dreaming it would change my life. Eight years I go I moved to Maine to better organize my life around making art.

Whether I'm working in watercolors, acrylics, or oils, my artistic interests are the same--light against dark, pattern and repetition, a strong sense of light, and above all, layers of sumptuous color. As a landscape painter, my goal is not to make portraits of places but to capture the essence of remembered places and moments.

For the past 25 years, I have spent part of every summer on the Blue Hill Peninsula in downeast Maine. My husband Dan Nygaard and I own a farm in Sedgwick, where he grows cut flowers and I paint and operate my studio/gallery, Art @ the Flower Farm. We winter in Portland, Maine.

I have a BA in English from Colby College, and am the grateful recipient of an art education through excellent adult education at the Maine College of Art, the Radcliffe Seminars/Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., the deCodova Museum School in Lincoln, Mass., and through private study with artists including Dennis Pinnette, Jon Imber, Joel Janowitz, Lucy Barber, Gracia Dayton, Louise Bourne, Evelyn Dunphy, and Michael Vermette.

I am a member of the Deer Isle (Maine) Artists' Association.

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I asked Leslie a few questions about her work as an artist.

[Christine Cote] What has drawn you to become an artist?

[Leslie Anderson] I started painting in watercolor as a relief valve from a very stressful job. I loved the deepened connection it gave me with the natural world around me, and I'd say that is what has kept me painting.

[CC] How would you describe your artistic style? What draws you to your particular style of art?

[LA] I describe myself as a "landscape painter in the Maine tradition" which gives me a lot of latitude! I strive to evoke a scene rather than describe it in detail, and my fondest hope for my paintings is that they'll evoke an emotional response from the viewer. So I guess I'm a realist landscape painter, but I'm always striving to become more abstract. I'm influenced in this by the painters Connie Hayes, George Nick, John Singer Sargent, Nell Blaine, James Fitzgerald, John Marin, and Milton Avery.

[CC] What are you seeking to express through your art?

[LA] I live in Maine where the weather (especially this summer) can be a trial and a plein-air painter has to grab those sunny breaks and just go paint. I'm striving to pin down, through paint, those remembered moments and the feelings they evoke. Also, what makes a painting work, for me, is the play of light against dark. Life isn't all sunny days, and the dark bits play an important role in a good painting.

[CC] What is the inspiration for your subjects...what inspired the subjects of the pieces in the Autumnal Tints exhibition?

[LA] I spend my summers painting other people's views, which is a lot of fun and very challenging. I get to drive down all these mysterious dirt roads to the ends of spruce-lined points, and you never know what you'll find. Once the summer's over, however, I get to paint just for me. Most of the scenes depicted in "Autumnal Tints" are things I've glimpsed on my way to the grocery store and later gone back to paint.

[CC] Is there anything else you'd like viewers and visitors to know about you and your art?

[LA] When I started painting twelve or thirteen years ago, I had no idea of the journey I was embarking on. Painting has taken me places and introduced me to people I never could have imagined in my former life. The painting life isn't an easy one, but when I'm on location or in my studio and lost in that wonderful process of endless decisions that is, for me, what comprises making a painting, it's the best job in the world.

Many thanks to Still Point Art Gallery for allowing me to share my work with, hopefully, many new people.

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Leslie's art pieces may be purchased. See the gallery website for more details. Inquiries should be addressed to Christine Cote at christine@stillpointartgallery.com or by phone at (207) 837-5760.

Autumnal Tints will be Still Point Art Gallery's featured exhibition from August 31 through December 1, 2009. The idea for this exhibition was inspired by Henry David Thoreau's essay of the same name.

"I believe that all leaves, even grasses and mosses, acquire brighter colors just before their fall. When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has, sooner or later, its peculiar autumnal tint." --Henry David Thoreau, Autumnal Tints

This exhibition, though, is not solely about a time of year. It is about color...the plush, sometimes fiery, sometimes soothing and subtle, colors of autumn. The artists whose works are shown here seem passionate about color. Through paintings, photographs, ceramic, and mixed media pieces, artists have indeed shown both the fiery and the subtle colors of autumn.

This exhibition is truly a treat to be enjoyed slowly. On one page you will see lively, bright colors that will warm your heart and put a smile on your face, while on another page you will see deep, rich colors that feel like velvet to the eye. On another page the colors seem simple and weightless, like a slight autumn breeze. Move to another page, and the colors explode into reds, oranges, yellows, purples, and greens. There are so many ways to explore autumnal tints.

Monday, August 24, 2009

This is the final week for the Dwellings exhibition. If you haven't seen it, take a look. If you have, take another look. There are several works in this exhibition that are worth a good study.

All three of Rae Broyles photo encaustic pieces - Desolation, Pink House, and Ancient Thoughts - make great use of color and are very well composed. Denis Wogan's piece, The View from Hiddensee, is beautiful in its simplicity; the scene is calm and inviting and...feels perfect. Penny Oliphant's pieces - Mohawk Cabins, Route 100 Trailer, Burnham Crossing - have enormous energy and vibrant colors.

The exhibition has several photographs by John Luesing. I want to draw your attention to Shadows on Lake Michigan #3 and Suburban Swingset #1. They are right on topic, making a statement about the ways we choose to live. Also look at Home, Sweet Home by George Gati, Blue Door by Terri Erbacher, Father and Son by Ellen Pollachek, and The Shoe House by Laura Seldman for other manifestations of dwellings. Don't miss the four pieces by Kate Cusick - Memorial Drive, Near Parker High, Sumac Street, and Pontiac Early April. Cusick's pieces are striking in their simplicity, but complex in what lies behind the interesting colors and designs.

Still Point Art Gallery's Dwellings exhibition will close as a featured exhibition on August 30. Dwellings will remain online and items can still be purchased, however, until August 30, 2010.

Thursday, August 06, 2009

Have you ever had one of those days when you felt like a slave to someone or something? Perhaps a slave to a situation or an emotion. Did you feel that you couldn't break free and be yourself? Perhaps you couldn't even find yourself. Did you feel that you were looking out at a life that you wanted to live, but something held you back, something kept you from experiencing the full expression of yourself.

Meet Jerry Atkins. Take a look at his Self-Portrait. The figure in this piece is jailed, held back by the bars of his small cell. The figure is peering out between the bars, eager to put the jail behind him, eager for a momentary sense of escape.

Self-Portrait is a powerful sculpture that can speak to life's varied situations and emotions.

Self-Portrait is a cast bronze sculpture, 18" by 50" by 14", available from Still Point Art Gallery for $40,000. Contact Christine Cote by email or by phone 207.837.5760.

Friday, July 31, 2009

You must see Jon Mehlferber's houses. He has lots of them, about 75 actually, in the Dwellings exhibition. Take a look. Take a good long look. They are enjoyable and really quite amazing in concept.

The shape of the small house, like that found in Houses on Stilts and Soul Houses, is familiar to most everyone. It is a shape as traditional and recognizable as a candy cane, a heart, or a wedding band. For this exhibition, Mehlferber made his houses out of wood and concrete. His wooden houses, those in Houses on Stilts, sit atop stilts and thereby attain a wonderful stature and sense of reach. The stilts add space and movement, thus for split seconds at a time, the houses seem almost to stretch, swagger, and shuffle. But before you even notice, they pop back into their appropriate places. There is also a beautiful rhythm in the way these houses are arranged, though you may have to spend a bit of time with the image of the piece to really see the arrangement. In Soul Houses, the houses are arranged very neatly in a 5x5 grid. These houses, made of concrete, do not move. They rest directly on the ground, being still and heavy.

Houses on Stilts, Wood House, and Soul Houses

Then there is Wood House. Tall, open, airy, full of light, beautifully proportioned, symmetrical, welcoming. All qualities of a desirable dwelling. The piece perhaps stands as a symbol of dwelling.

Houses on Stilts, Wood House, and Soul Houses are three-dimensional works of art. Houses on Stilts is 60" x 60" x 21" and is available from Still Point Art Gallery for $1250. Wood House is 24" x 24" x 20" and is available for $1000. Soul Houses is 60" x 60" x 6" and is available for $1250. Contact Christine Cote by email or by phone 207.837.5760.